R. Young

Submitted to NSF Geoscience Education Program, April 17, 2001

 The Rising Tide Project is designed to raise the level of scientific awareness and confidence on a local level by making collaboration between researchers and educators the norm, rather than the exception. Teacher/Student Teams, each consisting of one local high school teacher and one Coastal Carolina University (CCU) undergraduate, will work with CCU marine science faculty members (Faculty Mentors) on research projects during the summer. Each team will participate in a different local marine-related research project. Using the methodology and data from their research experience, teams will design locally relevant discovery- and inquiry-based classroom activities for high school students. Activities will be designed in a web-based format, tested and assessed in the classroom, and incorporated into the South Carolina Aquarium's web site where they will become part of the Aquarium's statewide aquatic curriculum. The goals of this program are

• To improve the scientific competence of local high school science teachers and renew their passion for scientific discovery
• To enable local high school science teachers to motivate their classrooms by incorporating classroom activities based on locally relevant scientific research that is pedagogically sound and is consistent with national and state standards.
• To establish an academic tradition of sustainable communication and cooperation between local schools and higher education
• To expose potential future science teachers (undergraduate marine science majors) to secondary teaching and to develop their capacity as researchers
• To enhance the research activities of university faculty
• To increase public awareness of locally relevant marine science research via the South Carolina Aquarium's education programs and web site
• To create an effective program that is sustainable and expandable in the long term
• To serve as a model for other regions to promote their local scientific strengths through improved cooperation

The NSF Geoscience Education grant will be used as a catalyst to secure sustainable institutional commitment and corporate sponsorship, and to attract funding agencies for expansion to other regions in the state. The Rising Tide model will be assessed and disseminated as a national model for local cooperation between researchers and educators in the marine sciences as well as other fields of appropriate local expertise.

In general, Americans have a low level of understanding of scientific facts and concepts, despite the pervasive role of science in society (NSF, 1996). Clearly there is a need, and indeed there is an ongoing effort, to improve science and math education at all levels (Rutherford and Ahlgren, 1990). Often, though, educators and students have difficulty breaking out of their traditional roles. University faculty "need assistance to transfer their professional expertise to the K-12 classroom, to help train present and future teachers, and to provide continuing education for the community at large" (NSF, 1997). Similarly, teachers need "opportunities for research and inquiry" in order to talk about and evaluate the results of learning and teaching (Darling-Hammond, 1998). Students from K through college continue to learn science in ineffective ways, despite the abundance of research demonstrating the importance of hands-on, discovery- and inquiry-based learning (AAAS, 1993; NRC, 1996; Manner, 1998). In a report entitled "Geoscience Education: A Recommended Strategy" (NSF, 1997), the NSF Directorate for Geosciences established clear goals and recommendations to encourage the integration of research and education in the geosciences. We propose to use marine science as a foundation on which to build improved scientific literacy and communication between higher education and local schools in South Carolina.

In 2000, South Carolina had the lowest Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of any state in the U.S. On the American College Test (ACT) in the 1990's and in 2000, South Carolina students were below the national average in the "science reasoning" category (SC Department of Education, 2001a). The SCDE has recently adopted a new and rigorous testing program reflecting the new standards: the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests (PACT). Passing the 10^th grade test will be a graduation requirement beginning in spring 2001 and the PACT Science Exit Exam will be administered beginning in 2002. Clearly, if the goal is for South Carolina students to become scientifically literate, we must have a teacher work force in place which is also scientifically literate.

"A rising tide floats all boats." The Rising Tide Project is designed to raise the level of scientific awareness and confidence on a local level by making collaboration between researchers and educators the norm, rather than the exception. In cooperation with the Waccamaw Math and Science Hub (a NSF Statewide Systemic Initiative regional education center), we propose to develop Teacher/Student Teams, each consisting of one local high school teacher and one Coastal Carolina University (CCU) undergraduate, which will work with CCU marine science faculty members (Faculty Mentors) on research projects during the summer. For this pilot program, seven Teacher/Student Teams will each be paired with one of seven Faculty Mentors. Each team will participate in a different local marine science research project. Using the methodology and data from their research experience, teams will design locally relevant discovery- and inquiry-based classroom activities for high school students. Activities will be designed in a web-based format, tested and assessed in the classroom, and incorporated into the South Carolina Aquarium's web site where they will become part of the Aquarium's statewide aquatic curriculum. The goals of this program are

• To improve the scientific competence of local high school science teachers and renew their passion for scientific discovery
• To enable local high school science teachers to motivate their classrooms by incorporating classroom activities based on locally relevant scientific research that is pedagogically sound and is consistent with national and state standards.
• To establish an academic tradition of sustainable communication and cooperation between local schools and higher education
• To expose potential future science teachers (undergraduate marine science majors) to secondary teaching and to develop their capacity as researchers
• To enhance the research activities of university faculty
• To increase public awareness of locally relevant marine science research via the South Carolina Aquarium's education programs and web site
• To create an effective program that is sustainable and expandable in the long term
• To serve as a model for other regions to promote their local scientific strengths through improved cooperation

The Rising Tide Project is not designed to reach the maximum number of people in a single event. Rather, this is a catalytic program designed to establish a pattern of behavior that will become an academic tradition of cooperation between higher education and local schools that will persist well beyond the ending date of this grant. We plan to use the prestige of a National Science Foundation grant to secure sustainable institutional commitment and corporate sponsorship, and to attract funding agencies for expansion to other regions in the state. We also plan to disseminate our design as a national model for local cooperation between researchers and educators in the marine sciences as well as other fields of appropriate local expertise.

The Rising Tide Project is based on the premise that (1) educators will readily teach science subjects if they have experience with the material, and (2) although mass-produced, widely disseminated science curricular materials are often excellent, both students and teachers are best motivated to learn science through hands-on, locally significant research. There will always be some researchers and educators that seek out collaborative opportunities with each other, but this pattern will not become widespread until doing so is convenient and personally rewarding. In addition, the activity must be consistent with the primary job description for all participants, and must be favorably recognized for evaluation and promotion purposes.

A number of excellent programs are available which pair top teachers with top researchers. These programs are laudable and distribute expertise throughout the teaching community. At the same time, these programs are often limiting in terms of sustainability (they end when the grant ends) and long-term cooperative relationships (participants may have little interaction after the completion of the workshop or program). These programs fail to reach the vast middle ground of teachers who are both interested and competent, but are unable to participate for various reasons, including time, family, financial, and career restraints. We propose to change the paradigm in which university researchers interact with secondary teachers in their community and raise the level of scientific research experience and confidence among secondary teachers by providing sustainable, accessible, and locally relevant research opportunities with researchers in their own community.

We will focus our efforts on Horry and Georgetown counties in northeastern South Carolina. These two coastal counties are the primary service area for Coastal Carolina University (located in Horry). The recruitment of participants, control of the program, feedback to the organizers, and benefits from the project are all local, while dissemination of the cooperative model and the products of the program may be both local and national. Such an arrangement fosters a more easily sustainable model.

Nationally, the field of marine science has been a popular theme for science and math curricular materials due to the level of student interest, and that its interdisciplinary nature, which encompasses biology, chemistry, geology, and physics, effectively supports specific standards by grade level. The nature of the geosciences, including marine science, makes them "especially endowed with opportunities to motivate students to engage in high-level thinking" (Holliday, et al. 1996). Coastal Carolina University is an undergraduate institution with a long record of encouraging and involving undergraduate science majors in active, hands-on, high-level thinking. The university's proven success in providing research experiences for undergraduates is reflected in Coastal's recent recognition as one of 10 schools nationwide to be honored by the NSF Awards for the Integration of Research and Education (AIRE). With over 400 undergraduate majors and a research budget of over $1 million per year, the marine science department is the largest and most active research department at Coastal Carolina University. It has achieved this status as an entirely undergraduate department whose primary research philosophy is to provide realistic experience for its majors through locally relevant high quality research. Thus, at a university with a distinguished undergraduate research record, marine science is the most appropriate science subject to promote cooperation between university researchers and local teachers in Horry and Georgetown Counties.

The Rising Tide Project model requires the cooperation of numerous participant groups and partners. To be sustainable in the long term, it must be financially self-supporting, and perhaps more importantly, it must generate sustained individual interest for all participants. Therefore, the goal of our model is to make it "easy and desirable" to participate. For example, university professors, by nature of their job description and evaluation criteria, must prioritize the progress of their own students and their own research activities. Many professors who wish to work with teachers do not do so because they are confronted by the reality of promotion and tenure criteria that prioritize research and teaching over service to the community and local schools. By pairing undergraduate students and teachers as a research team working on a faculty member’s project, our design combines the professor's primary mission of providing educational research opportunities for college students with the opportunity to work with teachers. Even so, simply working with teachers still represents additional effort in the midst of all-too-full work weeks. However, the addition of incentives (such as a research contribution, summer salary, or logistical support) makes the experience desirable for a larger pool of faculty. By keeping incentives at a modest level, we can avoid abuses of the system while attracting long-term participation by interested faculty. Keeping incentives modest also assists with the long-term financial sustainability of the program.

For each participant group below, we describe their motivation to participate, their responsibilities as participants, and the incentives provided for their participation.

In general, high school science teachers either double majored in some sort of combined education/science degree, or they were simply science majors in college. Many science teachers would like to participate in research and share their experiences with their students, but they are not sure how to go about doing so or where to find the time. By involving science teachers in local research, we hope to help them rediscover the excitement of the scientific process, as well as learn about new theories, concepts, and techniques. Since the teachers make a substantial connection with a researcher in their community, they are likely to continue that relationship over time. By bringing their experience back to the classroom, teachers will pass on their enthusiasm and knowledge to their students. Teachers armed with an understanding of the scientific process can generate an infinite supply of critical thinking classroom science activities, leading to a lifetime of effective teaching. We believe that providing research experiences for teachers is worthy of funding in its own right (but we don't plan to stop there).

Each teacher will be paired with an undergraduate marine science major, forming a Teacher/Student Team. Each team will work with a single CCU marine science Faculty Mentor on a local marine or coastal zone research project. Both team members will be required to:

• Work with the Faculty Mentor for the equivalent of at least 20 days (6 hrs/day) on the research project during the summer. Specific days and scheduling will vary depending on the project. Research activities will include data collection (field and/or lab), data analysis, and interpretation.
• Attend all components of a 10 hour Teacher Training Institute (described later in the proposal). These hours count as part of their 120 required hours.
• Produce web-based classroom activities to be piloted in the teacher's classroom during the fall semester (design and assessment described later in the proposal). The development of classroom activities is in addition to the 20 research days required during the summer, although the activities will utilize the data collected.
• Assess and revise the classroom activity for inclusion on the SC Aquarium web site
• Participate in dissemination activities, as described later in the proposal

• Teachers will receive 4 credits of a new "Scientific Research for Teachers" graduate course, to be developed for this program. The marine science department already offers several graduate teacher courses. Tuition will be covered by the grant.
• Teachers will receive a $1500 stipend for the summer. The time commitment for this program exceeds the typical requirement for a graduate course. Thus, a modest stipend is an additional incentive for teachers who are motivated to participate in research and obtain graduate credit.
• The multi-disciplinary nature of the marine science projects are attractive to teachers in multiple disciplines, including biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics.

It is well recognized that undergraduate science students, especially those planning to pursue graduate studies, are eager to obtain research experience. It is less well recognized that many of these students are also interested in obtaining teaching experience. A large proportion of CCU marine science graduates pursue teaching jobs, either immediately after graduation in high schools or informal education programs (aquariums, field programs, etc.), or they plan to pursue graduate studies in order to teach at the college level. In a recent survey of junior and senior marine science majors at CCU, 8 % of 48 respondents listed teaching as their primary career goal and an additional 46% listed it as one of several acceptable career options. Of these students, the majority indicated a preference for teaching at the collegiate level (59%), but teaching at the secondary level was also widely listed as an option. This trend can be compared to CCU's College of Education undergraduate programs, where, in the last 5 years (1996-2000), only 3 of 633 graduates (<0.5 %) have been secondary education/science majors (CCU Office of Institutional Effectiveness). Thus, traditional science majors may be an equal or larger source of future high school science teachers than secondary education/science majors. In Horry County, where CCU is located, many of the high school science teachers are former CCU marine science graduates. In South Carolina, all science subjects are listed as "critical needs" subjects, enabling college graduates with science degrees to obtain their secondary education teaching certificates without a traditional education major (SC Department of Education, 2001b). Thus, it is appropriate to target undergraduate science majors as potential future South Carolina high school science teachers. Interaction with a teacher and their classroom will serve undergraduate students well in developing their career paths, making the Rising Tide Project a potentially effective recruitment tool for South Carolina schools.

Each undergraduate student will be paired with a high school teacher, forming a Teacher/Student Team. Each team will work with a single CCU marine science Faculty Mentor on a local marine or coastal zone research project. The student's responsibilities are to serve as one half of the Teacher/Student Team, and thus their responsibilities are identical to those described earlier for the high school teacher (they will accomplish all goals as a team). Whereas the undergraduate has much to learn from the teacher regarding educational technique and strategy, he/she also has much to contribute as a young researcher immersed in a field of study.

• Students will receive 4 credits of MSCI 499, Directed Undergraduate Research. Four credits of in-state tuition will be covered by the grant.
• Students will receive a $1000 stipend for the summer. Students routinely conduct time-consuming research projects for credit, but the addition of classroom activities extends this project into the fall semester as well and extends the typical work load for an undergraduate independent research project. A stipend offers a modest incentive and helps to balance the need to work in the summer to make money for school.

University professors, particularly at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUI’s), are typically highly motivated educators. Thus, it is not surprising that many faculty members are interested in working with local teachers to improve K-12 education. As indicated previously, this desire is often unfulfilled due to the realities of faculty priorities as dictated by promotion and tenure criteria. The Rising Tide model allows faculty to work with teachers in harmony with their primary mission. In fact, it enhances the experience provided to their students and it supplements their research efforts.

The Rising Tide model is especially beneficial for (but not limited to) smaller teaching-focused institutions. Due to their increased teaching responsibilities, faculty at these institutions generally have less consistent and often more modest funding than faculty at large research universities. Nevertheless, they continue to generate high quality publishable research with the potential to provide learning opportunities for students and teachers. During years of adequate funding, the Rising Tide model encourages faculty researchers to involve teachers and students in their projects. During interim periods of limited funding, the model actually assists faculty research by providing summer research assistants and modest funding, so that essential data, or at least preliminary results for further proposals, can continue to be collected. Thus, the Rising Tide model is especially applicable to smaller institutions, enhancing its potential as a wide-spread model. There are many more PUI's than large research institutions, providing far more opportunities for teachers to develop relationships with researchers in their communities.

Faculty Mentors will provide an appropriate research project for the Teacher/Student Teams. These will typically be part of their ongoing local marine or coastal zone research. Specifically, they will

• Serve as the instructor of record for both the teacher and the undergraduate courses.
• Serve as the research advisor for the Teacher/Student Teams. As such, they are expected to provide extensive hands-on supervision, guidance, and feedback throughout the research period.
• Attend "The Teacher's Perspective" workshop of the Teacher Training Institute (described later in the proposal). This workshop will provide information on the expectations of the teacher participants, so the Faculty Mentors can better understand the context in which the teachers are working. Faculty may choose to attend other portions of the TTI, as well.
• Provide feedback for and scientific assessment of the content for the classroom activity designed by the Teacher/Student Teams
• Review the activity assessment and final product, ensure that the activity is provided to the SC Aquarium in the proper format, and assign a final grade

• Faculty Mentors will receive $2000 summer salary. In most cases, it is not a hardship for a faculty member who is already working with an undergraduate on a research project to take on a teacher as an additional member of the research team. However, the additional responsibilities of advising and reviewing the development of classroom activities by the Teacher/Student Team represents a significant commitment through the fall semester.
• Faculty Mentors will receive a $1000 research contribution, to be spent on the research project in a manner that enhances the experience of the teacher/undergraduate team. The specific use of the funds will obviously be project-specific, but for each project, it must be approved ahead of time by the PI and independently by the Waccamaw Math and Science Hub to ensure it is appropriate for the mission of the Rising Tide Project.

Waccamaw Math and Science Hub (see attached letter of support)

The Waccamaw Math and Science Hub, located on the Coastal Carolina University campus, is one of 13 regional mathematics and science education centers across South Carolina for supporting curricular and instructional reform. The hub is sponsored by the National Science Foundation's Statewide Systemic Initiative Program, the South Carolina Department of Education, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, and the Governor's Office through its Math Science Advisory Board. The Hub offers a variety of professional development institutes, including Curriculum Leadership Institutes for Teacher Leaders in mathematics and science, Technology Programs for teachers, and the Administrative Leadership Institutes for principals and other administrators responsible for supporting teachers' efforts to innovate and change.

We will work primarily with the Director of the Waccamaw Hub, Pam Barnhill. The Hub will

• Assist with program advertisement and teacher selection
• Assist in the planning, design, and facilitation of the Teacher Training Institute
• Assist with design and implementation of educational assessment tools
• Review spending plans for the $1000/team research contribution to ensure proper expenditure of funds in support of the teacher/undergraduate experience
• In subsequent years (sustainability), commit to the oversight of the above

South Carolina Aquarium (see attached letter of support)

The South Carolina Aquarium opened in Charleston, SC, in spring 2000 with a statewide Education Master Plan and teacher leadership network in place. The Standards-Based School Programs of the Aquarium's Education Department (http://www.scaquarium.org/index03.htm) were generated and tested by South Carolina teachers as the aquarium was being built, and they continue to be developed and improved. The primary emphasis to date has been on K-8 programs, but the Aquarium plans to work with math and science teachers to develop customized programs for high schools, allowing students to explore a range of topics. The activities generated by the Rising Tide Project will become some of these programs for high school students. The South Carolina Aquarium will

• Provide formatting, guidelines, and instruction to the Teacher/Student Teams (through the Teacher Training Institute) for the web component and content of their classroom activities.
• Incorporate the activities into their website and statewide standards-based aquatic curriculum

 PROJECT COMPONENTS

For this proposal, we are targeting only high school teachers (grades 9-12). Interacting with the high school curriculum is the least "stretch" for university faculty and undergraduates. As the project becomes sustainable in future years and the program logistics become familiar, we may wish to investigate expanding the program to middle school teachers, as well. Teachers will be targeted in only Horry and Georgetown counties, which are the two coastal counties that make up the primary local service area for Coastal Carolina University. There are 12 high schools in the two counties, with a total of 88 high school science teachers.

The selection criteria for participating teachers will emphasize equity in gender and school, and will specifically encourage participation by underrepresented groups. Minorities comprise 37.5% of the students in Horry/Georgetown schools, almost all of whom (35.5%) are African-American (Waccamaw Hub Annual Report, 1999-2000). We will prioritize minority teachers in our selection process, such that preference will be given to minority teachers for at least 3 of the 7 positions. If this program becomes sustainable, we plan to continue to prioritize approximately half of the positions for minority teachers. Leading candidates will be identified by the Hub through Hub Administration and Curriculum Leadership Institutes, through Hub-sponsored activities, and through Hub-identified partnership schools with low scores in science and math.

Teachers who apply to participate must rank the available research projects by preference. In cases where more than one suitable teacher has listed a preference for the same project, selection will be determined based on random selection. Following the pilot year of the program, participants will present their classroom activities at state and national conferences and to their colleagues in Hub-sponsored workshops for professional development. This will serve as an additional recruitment tool for the program in subsequent years.

The selection of participating undergraduate students is at the discretion of the faculty researcher for each project. Preference will be given to students interested in careers that integrate research and education. Students must be classified as Juniors or above.

For the proposed pilot of the Rising Tide Project, 7 research projects and Faculty Mentors have been identified. These researchers are considered by the PI and Coastal Carolina University to be CoPI's for the project, but are listed as Co-Investigators for this proposal due to NSF restrictions on the number of CoPI's. The research projects represent 3 projects from the field of marine biology, 2 from marine/environmental chemistry, 1 from marine geology, and 1 from physical oceanography/atmospheric science. Thus, the program offers opportunities to a full range of high school science teachers. Each project is described briefly below. Additional information on the qualifications of the Faculty Mentors is available from their biographical sketches.

Robert Young, Faculty Mentor

Team members will participate in a study of the resident and seasonally resident bottlenose dolphins in the North Inlet salt marsh system and adjacent Winyah Bay near Georgetown, South Carolina. This system has been studied by Dr. Young and CCU undergraduates since 1997, using photo-identification of dorsal fins and focal follow surveys. Predictable seasonal patterns have been identified in dolphin distribution and Dr. Young has generated bioenergetic models indicating that 3-7% of the total annual primary production in the North Inlet salt marsh is required to support 5-6 resident dolphins (submitted manuscript). Seasonal movements and energetic models all indicate that dolphins have a significant predatory impact on overwintering prey species, especially red drum. Team members will assist in the field with focal follows and photo-ID of dolphins, as well as with trammel net surveys of fish populations in various marsh creeks. They will use their data, and previously collected data, to correlate the distributional patterns of dolphins and their potential prey. This study is currently supported by a grant from the Georgetown Environmental Protection Society, and will be supported during the summer of 2002 by a $25-30,000 subcontract from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to examine interactions between dolphins and red drum. An NSF Biological Oceanography proposal will be submitted in August to further verify this interaction using fatty acid and stable istotope analyses.

Dr. Young teaches courses on marine biology, marine mammals, and fisheries at CCU. He collaborates with dolphin researchers along the east coast and contributes to the NMFS Mid-Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin Catalog. He is a past-president of the South Carolina Marine Educators Association, has taught marine science courses for elementary teachers (COASTeam), and will co-teach (with Dr. Gilman) a climate change course for middle school teachers this summer.

Daniel Abel, Faculty Mentor

Team members will participate in a long-term long-line survey of sharks in Winyah Bay and nearby waters. The study is currently in its third year supporting field-based undergraduate projects. Its primary research objectives are to determine which sharks use the Bay as a nursery; to understand habitat selection criteria for selected species in the Bay; and to examine the pollutant load in Bay sharks. Sharks are captured on 100-meter longlines with gangions every 2 meters fished for one hour. Sharks are worked-up while tethered to the boat and released. Work-up consists of identification, sexing, measurement, and tagging. Teams will participate in all field work and will analyze data to determine seasonal and distributional patterns by species, and to correlate these patterns to environmental parameters. This study is supported by a grant from the Georgetown Environmental Protection Society. This support has been renewed in the past and is expected to be continued, but if this does not occur, the $1000 research contribution can sustain the research activities for the summer, since CCU will match some boat expenses for student research.

Dr. Abel teaches several courses at CCU, including Field Studies in Shark Biology, and he has published research on shark physiology. He has co-authored 2 current textbooks which integrate environmental science, critical thinking, and basic math. He has lead workshops on critical thinking at national conferences, and he has been primarily responsible for the design and teaching of a new non-majors science course at CCU.

Craig Gilman, Faculty Mentor

Team members will participate in research to examine the extent and influence of sea and land breezes on the local environment. Localized sea breezes are known to have a significant affect on local weather and climate, but the distance inland in which this affect occurs is unknown. A series of weather stations will be stationed at undeveloped areas at various distances from the coast. Simultaneous measurements will show the extent and climate changes associated with the development of daily sea/land breezes. Baseline data from undeveloped coastlines in this study can be used in subsequent studies to examine the effect of developed coastlines on sea breeze dynamics and local climate. The Team will collect field data and will interpret the data in the context of basic meteorological principles and simple climate models. Funding for the weather stations is from the South Carolina SpaceGrant Consortium and necessary upgrades will be funded by the $1000 research contribution.

Dr. Gilman teaches course on atmospheric science, physical oceanography, and environmental science at CCU. He is the campus director for the South Carolina Space Grant Consortium, funded by NASA, and has been involved in the development of atmospheric science and environmental science educational programs. He is co-teaching (with Dr. Young) a middle school teachers course on climate change in the summer of 2001.

Jane Guentzel, Faculty Mentor

Team members will participate in research to understand the effects of precipitation and acid rain on the ecosystem of a barrier island. Participants will conduct field sampling and will learn laboratory chemical techniques to measure and interpret the role of major ions and iron in the system. The purpose of this project is to compare and contrast the behavior of water-soluble major ions (Cl^-, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, SO₄^2-, K⁺, Mg²⁺) with the behavior of iron (total Fe) in direct rainfall and throughfall. Throughfall is a measure of the direct rainfall, the amount of dry deposited species that are "washed off" of the leaves by rainfall, and any foliar interactions which are a result of leaching by acidic precipitation. Weekly integrated rainfall and throughfall samples will be collected at two atmospheric sampling stations located on Waites Island, a barrier island in Horry County. The sites are equipped with automated rain collectors and tipping bucket rain gauges. The stations are currently funded, through the South Carolina Higher Education Commission, to quantify the annual rates of mercury deposition to this ecosystem. The chemical measurements for this study will include ion chromatography (Cl^-, SO₄^2-), graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) (total Fe), and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) (Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺). The atomic absorption spectrometers have been funded through a current NSF-MRI grant. The data will be used to calculate annual concentrations and fluxes of major ions and total iron in direct precipitation and throughfall. In addition, the Team will develop a simple mathematical model to estimate the effects of acid rain on the foliage/plants within this ecosystem.

Dr. Guentzel teaches courses in marine chemistry and environmental ecotoxicology at CCU. She has numerous publications on her research in mercury chemistry and the atmospheric deposition of mercury in particular. She has developed an active research program involving CCU undergraduates in mercury chemistry and atmospheric deposition, and she has contributed to major curricular revisions to the marine chemistry course and the introductory marine science sequence at CCU.

Eric Koepfler, Faculty Mentor

Team members will participate in research and educational investigations of the importance of microbial life forms to the evolution, current status, and future support of the Earth’s regional biotic function. The research topic will demonstrate the function of the microbial loop and its sensitivity to global warming impacts through the use of replicated 4 liter microcosm systems subjected to thermal stratification and differential fresh-water / nutrient loadings. This series of microcosm systems will mimic the latitudinal variability (Low, Mid, High) in proposed global warming and precipitation trends anticipated in coastal regions under global climate change models predictions for the next century (Schlesinger 1991; www.epa.gov/globalwarming/climate). Microcosm systems will be sampled under present day and future (+100 year) predicted scenarios with realistic (moderate predicted values) of surface temperatures, salinities, and light intensities. Time course sampling (0-5 days) of primary production, respiration, phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll), bacterial biomass (via direct count of bacterial abundance), and oxygen concentration will be determined for surface and subsurface (below stratification) waters in each treatment after a several week equilibration periods. Data analysis will compare the results of the experimental trials and will contrast these results with the anticipated trends expected in the coastal ocean areas of the North Atlantic. Field sampling in local salt marshes will allow comparisons between natural patterns and those generated in the mesocosms. This project will be enhanced by the success of an NSF MRI grant (under review) to Koepfler; however, a similar yet less sophisticated laboratory study could be pursued using the equipment presently available on campus at CCU.

Dr. Koepfler teaches courses on marine biology, plankton ecology, and benthic ecology at CCU. He has done extensive research on microbial ecology in the salt marsh, in cooperation with researchers at CCU and the University of South Carolina, and he is active as an officer in the Southeast Estuarine Research Society. He oversees numerous undergraduate research projects that include his primary research interests, as well as sea turtle biology (for which he manages a local project at Waites Island) and coral reef ecology (through his field course in Jamaica).

Susan Libes, Faculty Mentor

Team members will participate in a water quality investigation using an approach similar to that of the ongoing Rivers Project. The latter is a volunteer monitoring program, funded by NSF AIRE, Wal Mart, and International Paper, that runs during the school year using high school students and their teachers as samplers and analysts. CCU’s Environmental Quality Lab (EQL) maintains the equipment and supplies and provides quality control oversight, often involving undergraduates as environmental education interns. The Rivers Project currently involves ten high schools and has been extant for two years. Six sets of equipment from Hach, Inc. are available for making in-situ or on-site measurements of total dissolved solids, color, pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, nitrate, phosphate, alkalinity and iron. Laboratory work is used to determine coliform counts, chlorophyll and a macrobenthic index of species abundance and diversity. The Rivers Project is part of the US EPA’s Volunteer Monitoring Network and complies with their guidelines.

Rising Tide Team members can focus their efforts in several possible ways. They may extend the Rivers Project data set through the summer to provide better temporal coverage, or they may define a specific water quality problem close to the team’s high school. The latter possibility can be formulated as a testable hypothesis in which land uses are directly related to the potential water quality problems.

Dr. Libes teaches courses in marine chemistry and environmental chemistry at CCU. She is the lead PI on several research projects investigating local water quality issues and has overseen the teacher training for the Rivers Project. The results of the Rising Tide Team's work will represent a synergistic outcome of particular interest to the NSF AIRE and SC DHEC’s Waterwatch programs, both of which provide written dissemination opportunities.

Eric Wright, Faculty Mentor

Team members will participate in research to determine dune structure and sand storage as it relates to beach erosion. An intensive 5-year effort is underway to study coastal erosion along the Grand Strand coastline of South Carolina, with the major emphasis on the more developed central portions (Myrtle Beach). The initial phase of the program involves framework geologic studies, which include shoreline change mapping and geophysical and coring studies. Future studies will use this data to focus modeling efforts along the Strand. Measuring sand storage in the dunes would assist these future modeling efforts. LIDAR and GPS surveys are only able to measure the more exposed dunes. Therefore, Team members involved in this project will survey tree-covered portions of Waites Island, an undeveloped island at the northern end of the Strand. Elevation information collected can be correlated with previously collected vibracore data to allow students to map elevations and calculate sand volume storage in the ridges along the landward edge of the island. The students will also have an opportunity to learn about other geologic data that has and will be collected at Waites Island as part of CCU student research projects.

Dr. Wright teaches courses in marine geology and GIS at CCU. He has done extensive research on beach erosion and renourishment in South Carolina and coastal and barrier island processes in the Southeast. He oversees numerous active undergraduate research projects, provides GIS support for student and faculty projects, and has contributed to extensive curricular development for introductory courses and marine geology courses at CCU.

The Rising Tide model requires training and instruction in both research and teaching. In the model, the faculty researcher serves as the research expert, providing instruction and direction. Additional assistance, however, is required for educational guidance for all members of the team, including the teachers, undergraduates, and faculty mentors. As part of the program, a Teacher Training Institute will be developed, consisting of 5 separate workshops, each approximately 2 hours in length. Each workshop will be planned in consultation with the Waccamaw Hub and will include one or a team of presenters that may include local teachers or school officials, faculty from the university education or science programs, or outside consultants. Faculty Mentors are only required to attend the first workshop but are encouraged to attend all of them. The PI and the Teacher/Student Teams will attend all workshops. The workshops are:

1. The Teacher's Perspective: This workshop will take place at the start of the program and is primarily a workshop to prepare the faculty researcher and undergraduate student to work with the teachers. The typical university faculty member has no concept of the educational guidelines and requirements for high school teachers. Topics to be addressed include the set-up of the school system and administrative guidelines, the requirements of the state and national science and math standards, and the expectations of the participating teachers.
2. Science Education Pedagogy: This workshop will address techniques for science education and will suggest methods to design effective classroom activities, based on the Team's research project, which implement best or reflect best practices in instructional delivery.
3. Assessment Tools: This workshop will discuss various assessment tools for classroom activities. Information from this workshop will be used to develop specific assessment tools for all classroom materials developed as part of this program. Assessment is further discussed later in the proposal.
4. Web Authoring: Since classroom activities will be designed in a web-based format, this workshop will introduce web authoring techniques and instruction in the format and use of activity web templates designed by the South Carolina Aquarium web site staff. The final version of these templates will incorporate suggestions and ideas from this workshop. The Aquarium's staff will be an essential participant in this workshop.
5. Reflective Assessment and Dissemination Planning: Toward the end of the Fall semester, after all Teams have tested their web-based activities in their classrooms, all 7 Teams will gather for a reflective assessment, to review the successes and challenges of their projects, to share their assessment results, and to discuss dissemination plans for the following spring and summer.

The intent of the Rising Tide Project is not to design an entire curriculum. Rather, it is simply to develop a series of marine-science-based activities that can be included in the already existing South Carolina Aquarium curriculum. The design of the classroom instructional activities will vary depending on the project, but they will all follow a similar overall format and should all have a strong discovery- and inquiry-based foundation (NSF, 1997). As a minimum, classroom activities will include the application of the scientific method in approaching the research project, manipulation and analysis of challenging data sets to generate results, graphical and other techniques for displaying and interpreting results, and discussion of the findings as they relate to the local environment and community. Activities may also incorporate field trips and/or the collection of additional data by students. All classroom instructional activities will be developed in a teacher-friendly format that lists and describes the specific grade-appropriate state and national math and science standards (NRC, 1996) that are addressed by each activity.

 Assessment

Quality assurance and assessment tools will be built into multiple stages of the project. They include both formative evaluations to aid in the development of the program and summative evaluations to assess the impact of the program on various target audiences. In all cases, the Waccamaw Math and Science Hub will assist in the development of assessment tools and in the identification of an assessment consultant for the Assessment workshop of the Teacher Training Institute. We will also look for guidance to the NRC (1996) guidelines which indicate that we must do a better job of assessing understanding, reasoning, and rich, well-structured knowledge, that we must determine what parts are understood as well as what parts are not, and that students must engage in ongoing assessment of their work and others.

The Teacher Training Institute as a whole will serve as a formative assessment tool, providing extensive input and discussion on the development of educational activities as the project progresses. It is also essential that the PI distribute assessment questionnaires throughout the summer and at every workshop to obtain continual feedback on the program from all participants (faculty mentors, teachers, students) and to allow for adjustments during the summer research period. As the classroom activities are developed, individual Faculty Mentors will provide continual formative assessment and review of the quality of the scientific content.

The effectiveness of classroom activities will be determined using assessment tools developed in the Assessment Workshop. Summative assessment of student learning can assess whether student results match predetermined goals for the activities and whether state and national science and math standards were adequately addressed. Assessments should evaluate learning, pedagogy, and changes in attitudes. Student feedback and evaluation will contribute to the revision of the activities prior to inclusion onto the SC Aquarium web site. Activities will be further evaluated by other marine science educators at the spring 2003 SCMEA Conference (see dissemination plans below).

At the end of the Fall 2002 semester, faculty mentors, teachers, and students will all evaluate the entire program, including the success and utility of its various components and changes in attitudes toward research and teaching, and scientific confidence.

As this is to be an ongoing sustainable program, we plan to continue our assessments after the grant is terminated. Specifically we are interested in the long term effects of the Rising Tide Project. Do faculty and teachers continue to communicate? Are faculty making classroom visitations or participating in field trips? Do activities continue to be used? Are participating teachers likely to use activities from other participating teachers? Are the activities on the SC Aquarium web site used by other teachers in the state? Are they effective for their classes? When pursuing funding for the expansion of the Rising Tide Project, we will include additional consulting to help address these questions.

 DISSEMINATION, SUSTAINABILITY, AND EXPANSION

We will disseminate the Rising Tide Project model locally via the Waccamaw Hub web site and Hub-sponsored events; statewide via the SC Aquarium Web Site, the South Carolina Marine Educators Association (SCMEA) web site and conference, and the South Carolina Science Council Conference (SC²); and nationally via the conferences for the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA), the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) and through such publications as the Journal of Geoscience Education and others. With a membership of over 200 devoted South Carolina marine educators (mostly K-12 teachers), the SCMEA conference is probably the most appropriate venue for statewide dissemination of our project. We plan to hold a Rising Tide Project Workshop at the Spring 2003 SCMEA conference involving all Teacher/Student Team members from the pilot year to present their activities to teachers statewide and to generate interest in expanding the program. The PI is a past-president of SCMEA.

The 2-3 year goal of the Rising Tide Project is to build the program on a state-wide basis and become self-sustaining through corporate sponsorship and institutional commitments, and to spread to other institutions and counties in South Carolina. The PI has already had discussions with Dr. Leslie Sautter of the College of Charleston (also a SCMEA past-president) and Dr. Brian Helmuth of the University of South Carolina (a current SCMEA board member) about jointly pursuing funding from South Carolina Sea Grant and other possible sources to expand the program to faculty, students, and teachers proximal to the marine programs at these two institutions. Collectively, the three South Carolina universities with marine programs have approximately 1000 undergraduate marine science/marine biology majors -- a huge, untapped, and extremely enthusiastic resource for the state and region. Marine science is clearly a research and educational strength within the state and is appropriate as a model subject for a teacher enhancement program that promotes cooperation between higher education and local schools.

Assuming our model generates enthusiasm among faculty, students, and teachers, it still cannot attain long term sustainability without financial support and a mechanism for the logistical coordination of the program. We plan to use the partnership between CCU and the SC Aquarium to attract corporate sponsors to support Teacher/Student Teams in subsequent summers. For approximately $5000, a corporate sponsor could support a single team, including teacher and student stipends, tuition, and the $1000 research contribution. The CCU administration has committed to continue to support faculty with $2000 summer salary after the grant period has ended, as a match for each corporate-sponsored Team (see letter of support). Thus, the prestige and initial catalytic support of the NSF Geoscience Education Grant will establish a sustainable tradition. Even if only a few Teams take advantage of the opportunity each summer, it will be enormously successful in establishing a dialogue and working relationship between faculty researchers in higher education and science teachers in local schools.

Following the termination of the grant, the Waccamaw Math and Science Hub will undertake the long term logistical coordination of the Rising Tide Project (see letter of support). This is fundamentally consistent with the mission of the Hub. Since there are 13 regional math and science Hubs statewide, the basic structure of the Rising Tide model can essentially be moved to any location in the state. Some of the duties of the Hub will be to oversee the recruitment and selection of teachers each year, to coordinate with faculty (who will recruit the undergraduates) and to ensure that faculty research projects are of an established and significant nature that warrants participation by teachers, to review faculty evaluations for future involvement, to oversee the approval of the $1000 research contribution as appropriate for the Teacher/Student Team experience, to continue to host the Teacher Training Institute based on the lessons learned during the pilot year, and to interact with the SC Aquarium and corporate sponsors.

Ultimately, we hope the Rising Tide model is adopted in other states and regions and for other subjects besides marine science. We believe that cooperation between university researchers and local high school educators should become business as usual each summer, wherever locally relevant research can be used to forge bonds between secondary and higher education and to illustrate scientific principles to students.

 NSF MERIT REVIEW CRITERIA

Although similar in some respects to other NSF programs, the Rising Tide Project does not fit the criteria of EHR programs such as ESIE and DUE. These program may support certain components of our model, but not all. For example, they may support an undergraduate but not a teacher, or a teacher and undergraduate but not a faculty member. This defeats the sustainable incentives built into our model. Our incentives are not large enough to cause an abuse of resources, but they are large enough to make a little extra effort worthwhile for all participating groups. Similarly, other programs often impose specific guidelines for time spent on various activities, such as workshops or research experience. The flexibility of our model is one of the components that is likely to make it sustainable. Teachers are likely to be pleased to stay at home in the summer and arrange a somewhat flexible schedule with a local researcher in which they put in 20 days over the course of 8 weeks. This is a model that works with people's lifestyles rather than against them.

As demonstrated throughout this proposal, the Rising Tide Project is extremely appropriate for the NSF Geoscience Education Program. Its target educational level includes undergraduate students and faculty, secondary educators, and the public via the SC Aquarium (although informal education is not the primary focus and we will not be able to assess it's impact within the time frame of the grant). It is a unique and creative model devoted to the integration of research and education at multiple levels. It is a catalytic program with a clear plan for sustainability. It enhances and advances knowledge in a range of marine-related fields, while simultaneously promoting the understanding of these fields to teachers and students. It enhances the infrastructure for education and research by establishing partnerships and sustainable relationships and by enhancing individual faculty research efforts. In a school district with 37.5% minority students, it broadens participation of underrepresented groups by prioritizing an even larger proportion of positions for minority teachers. It has a clear plan for assessment and dissemination, and it has the potential to serve as a model for cooperation between teachers and higher education in other regions and in other fields.

 TIMELINE

 AAAS. 1993. Benchmarks for Science Literacy: Project 2061, American Association for the Advancement of Science. Oxford Univ. Press, New York.